Five For Fighting – Fights To Make After UFC on Fox 2 Evans vs. Davis

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I was eight feet away from the cage at the UFC on Fox 2 last night. You can read my play by play here and if you watched the broadcast you probably got a good look at me. Now it’s time to take a look at the five most intriguing fighters coming out of the UFC on Fox 2 card and play Joe Silva with them.

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans – The easiest fight to make and the most intriguing as Rashad looked like an absolute killer against Phil Davis. Phil Davis is a great fighter and on the cusp of greatness but Rashad is great right now. Davis just learned how much further he has to go to tonight and now Evans gets his chance at redemption against Jon Jones. The plan is for them to face off in Atlanta at UFC 145.

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva – This was a title eliminator and Chael won, albeit many people have thought that Bisping won the fight. It’s the biggest rematch in MMA history and will take place in Brazil. Sonnen has to fight significantly better than he did against Bisping because the Sonnen that fought last night isn’t the same guy in Oakland, CA. Silva will steal his lunch money if this Chael Sonnen shows up. It’s going to be epic, though, either way. Can he do it again? We have to find out.

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Beflort/Wanderlei Silva winner – Weidman took a fight with Demian Maia on short notice and beat him quite convincingly. With more time to prepare and an easier weight cut this time around we need to know how good Weidman can be. He’s clearly a top 10 fighter in the division right now after the Maia fight but he’s still 2-3 fights away from being in title contention. The winner of Belfort/W. Silva gets him closer. Mark Munoz could be a stiff test as would be Rousimar Palhares.

Phil Davis vs. Forrest Griffin – Davis has shown he’s good enough to be considered on the cusp of greatness but he’s not quite there yet. Griffin would be a good test as his strength, being on top, would be tested by someone with a great submission game off his back like Griffin. Lyoto Machida would be another interesting matchup and is another Top 10 fighter as would the loser of Rampage Jackson and Ryan Bader in Japan.

Cub Swanson vs. Diego Brandao – Brandao is the latest “Ultimate Fighter” winner and the UFC has proven to throw their winners into the fire quickly. Swanson and Brandao have similar style and it would be an absolute slugfest between the two. Jimmy Hettes would be another good fight as well and an interesting style matchup. Hettes is a burgeoning prospect on his way up while Swanson is starting to settle into gatekeeper status. At this point I expect the UFC to put him against someone on his way up to see how much Swanson has left.